NEWS + ANALYSIS

The just-published Capital in the Twenty-First Century (all 700 pages!), by French economist Thomas Piketty, is already a New York Times bestseller. The author, who is currently touring America, is a star, and all major media have noticed his book. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman calls it the decisive book of the past decade.
So why is Piketty, who is best known in France as adviser to the Socialist Party, hailed as the Messiah in the United States (where he once taught, at MIT).?